Jon P. Bloch, Murder by Design

Murder by Design

Jon P. Bloch

St. Martin's, Mar 2004, $23.95, 272 pp.

ISBN: 0312313128

Though he knows better than to trust a TV show team, television entertainment reporter Rick Domino reluctantly agrees to participate in the My House, Your House redecoration of his home on the air. Rick's partner for the contest is his odious backstabbing co-hostess Mitzi McGuire. Their opponents are his gay prot g cop Terry Zane and his trailer trash ex-wife Darla Sue.

Besides the headache caused by the TV crew and the hemorrhoids caused by his so-called partner, Rick soon finds something else to concern him aside from being a survivor. Someone killed one of his rejected design consultants, Helena Godiva with the suspect being Terry's cousin hippie like carpenter Ann-Margret Wochinsky. Teaming with Terry, they investigate the homicide because both believe his relative may be crazy, but is innocent of wrongdoing

The wild purposely stereotyped staff is satirically impaled in this amusing who-done-it. The story line is loaded with puns, double and triple entendres, and bon mots as the casts' interactions take center stage. That also reduces the impact of the murder investigation to a second class design yet fans of Monty Python with no taut plot restrictions will laugh loudly at Jon Bloch's slice and dice of a variety of icons like reality shows and the overstuffed fuss of sexual preference.

Harriet Klausner